NEWSLETTER

Have a look at your roof and find out how much of it is suitable for solar energy, what PV capacity you can install on it and how much electricity you can generate with solar panels in a year.

Budapest Solar Map

The basis for designing your solar system is to know how much electricity you use in a year. This can be read off your annual electricity bill, or by adding up your monthly bills. If you already know that your electricity demand will increase significantly in the near future, e.g. if you are thinking of installing air conditioning, an electric water heater or an electric heating system, you should calculate with the increased consumption – for this you may need the help of an energy expert. For other electrical appliances, such as fridges, freezers etc. it is relatively easy to calculate the increased consumption based on the technical specifications of the product. Divide your annual consumption expressed in kWh by a factor of 1100 or 1200 for a south-facing roof to get the required system size. For an east or west facing roof, the divisor is between 1000 and 1100. For example: in case of an annual electricity consumption of 5000 kWh, the necessary PV system is 4,2-4,5 kWp for a south-facing roof, and 4,5-4,8 kWp for an east or west facing roof.

Step #1: Determine your electricity needs

Once you have determined the size of the solar system you need, check whether you have the roof space to accommodate it. For homes in Budapest, the easiest way to find out how much of the total roof surface area is sunny is to check the <a href="https://nappalhajtva.budapest.hu/szolar-terkep/">Budapest Solar Map</a>!

Step #2: Do you have enough roof space?

Once you’re serious about installing PVs, select a few solar companies for an offer and on-site survey. For example, you can choose from the member companies available on the website of the Hungarian Solar Association. It’s advisable to select a company close to the site for easier future maintenance. The majority of solar companies offer a turnkey service, from site survey to the permitting process, however it is worth clarifying this, and you may also want to agree on other arrangements.

Step #3: Request for offers

During the on-site survey, a representative of the solar company will assess the conditions of your roof. It is not advisable to sign a contract without an on-site survey and it is worth clarifying any additional costs before signing the contract. It is also advisable to have the metering point surveyed by an electrician registered with the local electricity company to check whether it needs standardisation and whether the phases and fuses are sufficient to connect the desired solar system. The cost of the visit varies among electricians. Upon compliance, the registered electrician will issue a statement. However, if the available capacity is not sufficient or the metering point is not standardised, the registered installer should be instructed to carry out the work and act on your behalf with the supplier: request a seal removal permit and standardise the metering point and/or increase the capacity or phase number. Normally this takes about 1 month, in case of for ground electrical wires half a year and it is not possible to start excavation work in the winter. The cost of this depends on the contractor and the exact tasks – for larger-scale interventions it can cost up to HUF 200,000-300,000.

Step #4: On-site survey

The authorisation process consists of three parts: application, connection approval and readiness report. The first part is the preparation and submission of the application to the electricity supplier. To complete the application form, you will need the following information and documents: – Personal data (name, address, contact details, etc.) – Address of use – Electricity supply contracts, if available (grid usage, grid connection) – Last electricity bill or annual bill, all pages – Copy of map not more than 30 days old (no need to be certified, can be downloaded from the Client Gate) – Copy of the title deed (no need to be certified, can be downloaded from the Client Gate at a cost of a few thousand HUF) The procedure time is max. 30 days. You can apply at the DSO also yourself, but most solar companies will do it for you. The DSO does not charge any fee for the application.

Step #5: DSO authorisation process

Following the application, the DSO issues a technical economic information sheet (TIS) stating the fact of conditional connectivity. There are cases where the inverter of the required capacity cannot be connected because the grid cannot accommodate it. In this case, your solar system must be adapted to the technical parameters specified in the TIS. In the case of a positive TIS, an authorized designer shall prepare the connection plan of the PV system with the single-line connection drawing and submit it to the DSO. The processing time is max. 30 days. The DSO issues the connection permit, after which the installation of the solar system can start. You need a qualified and authorized designer to draw up the connection plan and wiring diagram. Most solar panel companies will either do this for you with their own designer or with the help of a subcontractor. Obviously, the designer’s work has to be paid for, usually between 30-60 thousand HUF net, depending on the designer, but there are no other administrative costs.

Step #6: Connection approval

After completion of the installation and issuing the contact protection report, the designer prepares a report of completion and reports the system ready, together with the necessary documents and photos. After the test of the completed solar system the system cannot be operated yet, it is necessary to wait for the electricity meter to be changed. The DSO will send you the new grid usage contract, which must be signed and returned to the DSO. The supplier will then contact you within 30 days to agree on the date of the electricity meter change. On the agreed date, the DSO’s contracted partner will verify at the installation site that the system included in the connection plan has been implemented. If so, the meter will be changed. Your solar system can then start operating!

Step #7: Readiness report

I want a solar panel

By installing ten million square metres of solar panels, Budapest could very significantly reduce its emissions and energy dependence. To this end, the Municipality of Budapest has launched a programme to promote the widespread deployment and integration of solar energy in Budapest.
In Budapest, solar panels currently account for only a fraction of total electricity consumption, less than 1%. To meet the climate targets set in the Budapest Climate Strategy, the current solar capacity in the capital needs to be increased by a factor of about 130. In the Budapest Climate Strategy, the capital has committed to achieve a 40% reduction in the capital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
Installing a total of 1,500 MW of solar panels, i.e. around ten million square metres, would save nearly five hundred thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s the amount of emissions released into the atmosphere by the electricity use of all Budapest residents in one year. The solar panel programme would reduce Budapest’s total CO2 emissions by eight percent.
The Municipality of Budapest has neither the resources nor the authority to solve the complex problems of urban energy supply and environmental protection on its own. However, the Municipality is keen to play a role in promoting solar PV development in Budapest, involving all stakeholders: residents, electricity suppliers, public transport, district authorities, financiers and industry experts.

Background

The ’Budapest – Solar Powered’ project is based on three urban challenges.
The first one is urban air pollution: in Hungary, air pollution is the 8th biggest health risk, closely followed by smoking, high blood pressure, poor diet and obesity. In Hungary, the number of people dying from diseases caused by small particles is estimated at around 10,000 per year. In Budapest alone, hundreds of premature deaths are specifically linked to air pollution every year.
The second challenge is the changing trends in energy use (such as the need for cooling during increasingly frequent and intense heat waves, the spread of digitalisation or even teleworking) and the accelerating electrification of urban mobility. The continuous development of the city’s electricity network to meet changing needs is a challenge for the system operator, and the location and maintenance of network infrastructure requires space in an already densely populated area of the city.
The third major challenge is the current low uptake of renewable energy sources. Increasing this share is a priority objective in urban development plans, the Budapest Environmental Programme and the Budapest Climate Strategy.
Solar energy is the most accesible renewable energy source in the urbant context. The Budapest – Solar Powered project therefore concentrates on the city’s solar potential. The aim of the work is to explore ways of promoting and supporting the uptake of solar panels. The project also explores administrative and legal barriers, technical as well as economic issues, and social and community attitudes and involvement.

Goals

The Budapest Municipality’s main partner in the project is the <a href="http://www.mnnsz.hu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hungarian Solar Energy Association</a> which is an association with nearly 300 member companies representing the Hungarian solar collector, solar panel, solar inverter, mounting structure manufacturers and distributors, renewable electricity production and sales, solar panel and solar collector system design, construction and education. The aim of the association is to promote the use of renewable energies, primarily solar energy, in Hungary, thus contributing to the reduction of import energy dependency, the development of the domestic renewable industry and the creation of jobs.
The international partner of the project is the German research organisation <a href="https://www.agora-energiewende.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agora Energiewende</a>. The organisation aims to develop scientifically sound and politically feasible alternatives to achieve climate neutrality in Germany and across Europe and globally.
On the network side, ELMŰ (E-ON) provides knowledge and shares experience with the project. The European Climate Initiative (EUKI) has provided over half a million euros in funding for the project. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action’s grant programme supports climate protection projects across the European Union.

Partners

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We have collected and analysed the district and city-level regulations for the installation of solar panels. The <a href="https://nappalhajtva.budapest.hu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EN_Budapest_Solar-Powered_legal-assessment_final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">detailed legal analysis</a> helps professionals, municipalities and the general public to navigate through the wide range of rules.
Three expert working groups have been set up, involving municipalities, civil society organisations, academics, students and some of the companies involved, to think together and identify solutions to promote the use and uptake of solar panels: – The ” Local Regulation” working group is specifically working on reviewing, harmonising and standardising the metropolitan and district regulations. – The “Public Awareness” working group aims to provide citizens with real knowledge and practical experience through awareness-raising activities, events and actions – The “Technical” working group works on recommendations and proposals focusing on technical issues.
By integrating different databases and using geographic information software, the Solar Map of Budapest has been produced. Files containing the buildings and urban planning units of the city and digital surface models of the buildings were imported into the programme and used to build the Budapest Solar Map through various modelling and geodatabase building processes. The final output consists of several output layers, including the results of simulated irradiance modelling for the whole year, the irradiance and estimated electricity generation potential of building roofs, etc. The map aims to provide information to property owners and decision makers to support the implementation of different solar PV investments.
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